Presented by Alabama’s Locally-Owned

Health Mart Community Pharmacies

 

 

Good morning!

Here’s your Daily News for Tuesday, November 17.

 

 

1. Election 2020: Two weeks later

• A Senate panel is calling on the CEOs of Facebook and Twitter to defend their handling of disinformation in the contest between President Donald Trump and Democrat Joe Biden. But the senators are deeply divided by party over the integrity and results of the election itself.
• The Senate Judiciary Committee is holding a hearing today to question Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg and Twitter’s Jack Dorsey on their companies’ actions around the closely contested election. The two social media CEOs are expected to testify via video.
• Zuckerberg and Dorsey promised lawmakers last month that they would aggressively guard their platforms from being manipulated by foreign governments or used to incite violence around the election results — and they followed through with high-profile steps that angered Trump and his supporters.
• Twitter and Facebook have both slapped a misinformation label on some content from Trump, most notably his assertions linking voting by mail to fraud. On Monday, Twitter flagged Trump’s tweet proclaiming “I won the Election!” with this note: “Official sources called this election differently.”
• Read more on that HERE.
• As for the election challenges, a hearing on the Trump campaign’s federal lawsuit seeking to prevent Pennsylvania officials from certifying the vote results remains on track for today after a judge quickly denied the campaign’s new lawyer’s request for a delay.
• U.S. Middle District Judge Matthew Brann told lawyers for Donald J. Trump for President Inc. and the counties and state election official it has sued that they must show up and “be prepared for argument and questioning” at the Williamsport federal courthouse.
• The Trump campaign wants to prevent certification of results that give Joe Biden the state’s 20 electoral votes, suing over election procedures that were not uniform across the state.
• The Trump legal challenge centers on how some counties let voters fix, or “cure,” mail-in ballots that lacked secrecy envelopes or had other problems. The president’s campaign’s lawsuit claims counties’ inconsistent practices violated constitutional rights of due process and equal protection under the law and resulted in the “unlawful dilution or debasement” of properly cast votes.
• Even if successful, it is unlikely the lawsuit would change enough votes to overcome the 70,000 vote deficit for Trump.
• Pennsylvania Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar has asked to have the lawsuit thrown out, calling its allegations in court filings “at best, garden-variety irregularities.”
• Read more on that HERE.
• Meanwhile, the head of the Government Services Administration is facing pressure to allow the presidential transition to begin.
• Emily Miller has yet to declare “ascertainment,” or official acknowledgement that Biden won. When she does, it will free up money for the transition and clear the way for Biden’s team to begin placing transition personnel at federal agencies. It also begins the process of giving Biden the classified presidential daily briefing on intelligence matters.
• Read more about that HERE.

 

 

2. VoteCast: Alabama voters mixed on state of nation

• Speaking of the election, more data is in about the Alabama electorate’s views while going to the ballot box two weeks ago.
• The Associated Press VoteCast survey polled 1,905 voters and 526 nonvoters in Alabama.
• We all know the results: Trump won 62-36 over Biden; Tuberville won 60-40 over Jones.
• But beyond that, the survey found interesting trends, some of which bucked national ones.
• For example, Trump had an advantage among both voters without a college degree and college-educated voters.
• See more in the full AP VoteCast read out HERE.

 

 

A message from Alabama’s Locally-Owned

Health Mart Community Pharmacies

• Alabama’s community pharmacists are more than just the friendly faces that fill your prescriptions every month; they are an essential link in the healthcare chain.

• In rural areas, community pharmacists are often the first – and sometimes the only – healthcare contact for residents in a community.

• In addition to keeping Alabama communities healthy by filling prescriptions, most of the APCI network of community pharmacies provide vital healthcare services such as immunizations, clinical testing, and medication counseling.

• We appreciate the pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, and pharmacy staff members – your friends and neighbors – in our locally-owned pharmacies who go above and beyond to safely meet the healthcare needs of Alabamians.

• Find your locally-owned community Health Mart pharmacy HERE.

 

 

 

3. First veterans apprenticeship program launched in Alabama

 

• Veterans Day was last week, and the Alabama Office of Apprenticeship partnered with Redstone Arsenal to provide the first ever registered apprenticeship program for veterans.
• The program will enable veterans to learn highly specialized skills while getting paid, receive a monthly housing allowance and have a guaranteed job placement with advancement opportunities.
• Employers will also benefit from the program by getting to hire veterans with proven track records of dedication and discipline and eventually develop a pipeline of skilled employees, the press release said.
• “The AOA is very happy to be able to ensure our veterans get every possible benefit from registered apprenticeship programs,” office director Josh Laney said in a press release. “The program we were able to build with U.S. Army (Test, Measurement and Diagnostic Equipment) Activity at Redstone is a great example of the kind of incentives and supports available to get the expertise and dedication of veterans into the civilian workforce.”
• Read more from ADN’s Caroline Beck HERE.

 

 

4. Mobile moves ahead with Mardi Gras plans amid pandemic

• Mobile is moving ahead with plans to hold Mardi Gras celebrations in early 2021 despite the coronavirus pandemic, which is quickly worsening.
• Some groups already have called off parades and balls over concerns about spreading the virus that causes COVID-19, but news outlets report Mayor Sandy Stimpson’s office has released a memo saying Mardi Gras isn’t being canceled in the port city.
• Instead, the city is getting ready to issue permits for parades that will wind through downtown streets. Stimpson’s memo, which was released publicly by a City Council member on social media, said the number of people riding on floats will be limited, and participants will need to wear face masks.
• “This is a fluid situation, and we’re in uncharted waters,” said the memo, which also said organizations that rent city facilities for Mardi Gras balls will be able to cancel events as late as one week beforehand without a penalty.
• Full story HERE.

 

 

5. Way-too-early look at 2022 map

• One of the most concerning things for Democrats about the 2020 election was how Republicans gained seats in the House of Representatives. Traditionally, the party out of power tends to pick up seats in the midterm following a presidential election, which means the GOP stands a good chance at winning back the Speaker’s gavel in 2022.
• The House is more predictable because every seat is on the ballot every two years.
• The Senate, on the other hand, is less so, because only a third of the body is up for reelection every two years.
• Pinned six years in the minority, Democrats have an uphill but real shot at wresting Senate control in January when Georgia runoffs will determine majority. Yet as states increasingly sort themselves along hardening partisan lines, it’s complicating Democrats’ drive to win the majority and keep it.
• Thanks to this month’s elections, Democrats will own all four Senate seats from purple Arizona and increasingly blue Colorado next year. Yet even as Democrats have made those gains and others since surrendering control in the 2014 elections, they’ve lost foundations of their old majority that will be hard to recapture. Gone are seats from Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, both Dakotas, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Missouri, North Carolina and West Virginia, all of which tilt Republican in presidential elections.
• In the 2022 elections, Democrats will defend 13 Senate seats — all from states Biden won. Trump won 18 of the 21 seats Republicans will protect.
• The biggest pick up opportunities for Democrats are in Pennsylvania and North Carolina, where current Republican senators are retiring, as well as Wisconsin, a perennially purple state.
• The GOP will be on the offensive in New Hampshire, Nevada and Arizona.
• Read more HERE.

 

 

Headlines

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – 2nd coronavirus vaccine shows early success in U.S. tests

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – AP VoteCast: Alabama voters mixed on state of nation

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Mobile moves ahead with Mardi Gras plans amid pandemic

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Head of govt agency under pressure to let transition proceed

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Bedsole, Patton face off in HD49 special election

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Trump campaign lawsuit over Pennsylvania vote heads to court

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Facebook, Twitter CEOs facing questions on election measures

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – First veterans registered apprenticeship program launched in Alabama

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Hardening partisan map steepens Democrats’ climb in Senate

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – What mandate? Biden’s agenda faces a divided Congress

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Incoming Rep. Jerry Carl talks issues, working with Dems

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Congresswoman Terri Sewell hosts virtual job fair in 7th District

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Aderholt to miss votes this week as COVID-19 precaution

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Daily News Digest – November 16, 2020

 

AL.COM – Alabama breaks record for daily new coronavirus cases, 7-day average tops 2,000 for first time

 

AL.COM – Alabama prison system spends $10 million on decontamination equipment

 

AL.COM – Birmingham mayor proposes plan to bring back furloughed employees

 

AL.COM – COVID-19 vaccine in Alabama will be free, first doses could be available by December

 

AL.COM – What does PNC’s acquisition of BBVA mean for Birmingham?

 

AL.COM – Alabama cattle auctions, poultry processors can apply for CARES Act funds

 

AL.COM – Alabama schools go virtual: Rising COVID-19 cases prompt closures

 

AL.COM – After absentee voting shatters records, what’s next for early voting in Alabama?

 

AL.COM – Decades before Black Lives Matter, Bonita Carter changed Alabama forever

 

Montgomery Advertiser – Montgomery voters headed to Senate District 26 primary on Tuesday

 

Montgomery Advertiser – ‘I have a gun, lady. Do not be stupid’: Atlanta Highway Piggly Wiggly robbed Monday night

 

Montgomery Advertiser – Coosada man charged in multiple carjacking, robbery incidents after Fresh Market robbery

 

WBRC Fox 6 Birmingham – Police: Gunman shot, killed after long standoff in Five Points

 

WBRC Fox 6 Birmingham – When could a COVID-19 vaccine become widely available?

 

WBRC Fox 6 Birmingham – Birmingham Mayor presents city council with plan to bring back up to 132 furloughed city employees

 

Tuscaloosa News – Tuscaloosa toys for tickets program returns for 2020

 

Tuscaloosa News – Human trafficking task force nets 14 arrests in an undercover operation

 

Tuscaloosa News – BETTY SLOWE’S BLOG: Nov. 16, 2020 | 100 years ago

 

Decatur Daily – ‘You killed my sister’: Victim’s sister testifies in Roger Stevens’ trial, as does witness who has COVID

 

Decatur Daily – Elective surgeries at risk as more Decatur Morgan Hospital staff quarantined

 

Decatur Daily – Hartselle man accused of raping woman ‘for approximately an hour’

 

Times Daily – Muscle Shoals High School going virtual through Friday

 

Times Daily – Move Leighton Forward is working for the community

 

Times Daily – Hospital officials warn a jump in local COVID cases possible

 

Anniston Star – Alabama preparing for limited COVID vaccinations as early as mid-December

 

Anniston Star – Incoming Rep. Jerry Carl talks issues, working with Dems

 

Anniston Star – Aderholt to miss votes this week as COVID-19 precaution

 

YellowHammer News – Huntsville firm lands $85M NASA award for key component of returning Americans to the moon

 

YellowHammer News – ADPH: Healthcare providers, ‘chronically ill’ in Alabama could get COVID-19 vaccine in ‘mid-December’

 

YellowHammer News – Doug Jones says Georgia outcome shows ‘incredible opportunities’ for candidates in the South, Thanks supporters despite election loss

 

Gadsden Times – Gov. Kay Ivey expresses hope for COVID-19 vaccines, encourages holiday safety amid rising numbers

 

Gadsden Times – ‘It’s getting worse all the time,’ fire chief says after responding to I-59 crash

 

Dothan Eagle – Wiregrass healthcare providers, chronically-ill may get COVID-19 vaccine before Christmas

 

Dothan Eagle – Dothan man arrested after attempt to shoot two people at local gas station

 

Dothan Eagle – Wiregrass Museum of Art offers galleries for holiday gatherings

 

Opelika-Auburn News – Watch now: New local store showcases other local businesses, makers and merchants

 

Opelika-Auburn News – Public health programs see surge in students amid pandemic

 

Opelika-Auburn News – Second virus vaccine shows success in US tests

 

WSFA Montgomery – Alabama preparing for possible COVID-19 vaccine in December

 

WSFA Montgomery – Death investigation underway in Andalusia

 

WSFA Montgomery – Ala. retailers expect potential growth in holiday spending this year

 

WAFF Huntsville – Police: Gunman shot, killed after long standoff in Five Points

 

WAFF Huntsville – Crews respond to house fire near Montauk Trail in Huntsville

 

WAFF Huntsville – Albertville City Schools install free Wi-Fi access points for students

 

WKRG Mobile – Here’s when to look for tonight’s Leonid meteor shower

 

WKRG Mobile – Online dating scammers use woman’s photos to lure people out of thousands of dollars

 

WKRG Mobile – Pandemic politics leave DC in gridlock as virus surges

 

WTVY Dothan – Operation Christmas Child kicks off National Collection Week

 

WTVY Dothan – Stuffing a semi one Thanksgiving meal at a time

 

WTVY Dothan – Salvation Army Red Kettle Campaign kicks off, volunteers needed

 

WASHINGTON POST – Biden pressures Trump to cooperate, citing risk of additional coronavirus deaths if handoff is delayed

 

WASHINGTON POST – Biden urges a new economic relief package and warns again of a ‘dark winter’ ahead

 

WASHINGTON POST – Trump digs in on baseless election claims even as legal options dwindle

 

NEW YORK TIMES – Vaccine Unproven? No Problem in China, Where People Scramble for Shots

 

NEW YORK TIMES – Lockdowns, Round 2: A New Virus Surge Prompts Restrictions, and Pushback

 

NEW YORK TIMES – Moderna’s Covid Vaccine: What You Need to Know

 

WALL STREET JOURNAL – Retail Sales Seen Posting Sixth Consecutive Monthly Gain in October

 

WALL STREET JOURNAL – Stock Futures Edge Down After Indexes Hit Records

 

WALL STREET JOURNAL – Hundreds of Companies That Got Stimulus Aid Have Failed

 

 

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